Raul puts Real five points to good
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Ronaldo congratulates Raul after his early goal in the Bernabeu.
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MADRID, Jan 3 (Reuters) -- Real Madrid eked out a 1-0 victory at home to Murcia on Saturday to stretch their lead at the top in Spain to five points.
Real were disrupted by the loss of Zinedine Zidane and David Beckham during the match and were never completely comfortable, despite taking the lead in the ninth minute with a tap-in from Raul.
Murcia missed several clear chances early in the second half and Luis Garcia hit the bar with a free kick five minutes from time.
England skipper Beckham was forced to leave the field after 79 minutes after a crunching tackle by Rafael Clavero left him with a bloodied ankle, while Zidane did not appear for the second half as he struggled to overcome a flu bug.
Raul's goal saw him become the third highest scorer in the club's history as Real scored their fifth consecutive league victory.
He joins Hugo Sanchez on 164 goals in third place in a table topped by the Alfredo Di Stefano (216 goals from 1953 to 1960) and Carlos Santillana (186 goals from 1971 to 1988).
The result gave Carlos Queiroz's side 42 points from 18 games and left Valencia, in second spot with 37 points, needing to win at home to Villarreal on Sunday to cut the deficit back to two points.
Third-placed Deportivo Coruna are on 36 points after a thumping 5-0 away victory at Galician rivals Celta Vigo later on Saturday.
Victor Sanchez scored three goals as Deportivo easily topped Celta in the round's only regional derby.
Albert Luque opened the scoring in the 15th minute, and Sanchez made it 2-0 in the 41st.
In the second half, Sanchez scored in the 71st and 79th minutes. Diego Tristan netted the final goal in the 86th amid shouts and insults by Celta fans, who left the stadium demanding the resignation of coach Miguel Angel Lotina.
The game also marked the return of Deportivo veterans Mauro Silva and Walter Pandiani, who had been absent for three weeks.
Celta, which advanced to the second round of the Champions League, is in 17th place with just 17 points.
Zaragoza and Atletico had to settle for a goalless draw after both teams missed several score opportunities.
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